Ball-sizing machine



F. E; MUELLER.

BALL SIZING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 6. 1919.

. Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

'F. E. MUELLER.

BALL SIZING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT'.61 1919.

Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

R m E m avf g w ATTORNEY 1 Q IIIfiIIIE chines, of which the following is a specifi 5 UNITED STATES PATENT oFncs.

FREDERICK E. MUELLER, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO TEE NORMA COMPANY OF AMERICA, OF LONG NEW YORK.

ISLAND OITY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF BALL-SIZING MAG H INE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J an. 18, 1921.

Application filed September 6, 1919. Serial No. 322,025.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. MUEL- LER, a citizen of Germany and a resident of Mount Vernon, county of Westchester, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ball-Sizing Ma- 'cation. v y

The present invention relates to improvements in ball sizing machines, and particularly such machines for sizing balls of ver .fine precision such for instance as the antifriction balls used in ball bearings.

It is an object of the invention to provide a machine of this character in which the balls may be fed singly and at uniform speed and which will preclude clogging ofthe balls in. the machine. Other-objects are to provide such a machine which may be made to accommodate different types of balls, that is, balls of substantially different diameters as distinguished from the balls of one type but of slightly different diameters,

and therefore requiring sizing and to enable the accurate adjustment of the sizing means.

With these and'other objects in View, an embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and this embodiment. will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto and the invention will be. finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation'of an embodia ment of my invention shown by way of exam 1e herein;

, ig. 2 is an enlarged side. elevation partly in section and with parts broken away;

' Fig. 3 is'an enlarged transverse Vertical sectional view taken along the linej3-3 of Fi 2' Fig. is a front elevation, the supporting table and driving connections being 7 re-' moved Fig. 5 is a detail plan view with parts broken away of the swing guideway Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the socketed' members ,for transferring the balls from one "portion -of the feeding mechanism through another; and

8 is a plan view thereof. Slmllar reference characters indicatecorresponding parts throughout the several fige ures of the drawings. a Referring to the drawings, the embodi ment of my invention shown therein comprisesa ralsed ,ball receptacle 10 mounted upon a bearing member'll engaging an annular recess 12 thereof, the said bearing member engaging an annular recess 13 provided in the enlargedupper head 14 of a standard 15,-the elongated horizontal base 16 of whichis secured by screws 17 to the table 18. The member 11 is held against movement by means of screws 19 extending upwardly through the head 14. The receptacle 10 is secured to the member 11 by means of screws 21.

Within the member 11 there is provided a transverse cylindrical bore 22, the upper surface of the said member being dished as at 23 and in communication with the said bore by an elongated opening 24, a diametrically opposed elongated outlet opening 25 being provided in the said member and com- 'munlcatin with the dished upper surface the said grooves adapted to register with the passages 24 and 25 and'being of'less width than the said passages. v I

Within the said grooves there are disposed bars 34 held in place by screws 35 and carriedto the passage 25 and dropped, into the dished'portion 26 offthe head 14 and thence into an offset passage 38 provided n 1 providedwith cut-out portions 36 forming a an enlargement 39 of the standard 15 beneath the head 14. Within the portion 39 there is provided a circular bearing opening 40 extending at one side into a reduced hub portion 41 within which there is mounted a spindle 42, anti-friction bearings 43 and 44 being interposed between the said spindle and the hub, the said spindle being screw threaded at one end 42 and provided with a disk 45 screwed thereon and locked in place by a nut 46. the periphery of the said disk bein provided in spaced relation with sockets 4 into which the balls within the passage 38 are adapted to be singly deposited and upon rotation of the said disk to drop periodically and singly into a tube 48 having its upper end supported in the lower portion of the enlargement 29 by means of a set screw 49, and in communication with the opening 40.

A cover plate 50 threaded at its periphery, is engaged in a recess 51 annularly surrounding the opening 40. Upon the outer end of the spindle 42 there is provided a stepped pulley 52 and also a pulley 53 smaller than the pulley 31 and connected thereto by a belt 54.

The stepped pulley 52 is connected by a belt 55 to a stepped pulley 56 mounted on a shaft 57 journaled in bearing 58 provided in the table 18, the said shaft being driven by the speed reducing pulleys 59. 60. 61 and 62 andthe beltconnections 63 and 64 from the drive shaft 65, driven by means of a pulley 66 and a belt 67 from a suitable motor or other source of power. A drawer 68 is provided beneath the table for containing balls in quantities to be sized.

The tube 48 is bent in a downwardly inclined direction as at 69, the balls rolling therefrom by gravity and at sufiiciently timed periods to prevent their interfering with each other. A standard 70 adjustable as to height by means of a screw post 71 is provided upon a support 72 in front of the standard 15 and having at its upper end a bearing 73 hingedly supporting a pair of bars 74 and 75, a pintle 76 connecting the said bars at their raised ends and passing through the bearing to form a hinge, while their lower ends are spaced by a block 77 to which they are secured by screws 78 and 79. the said block being provided with a lug 80 engaging a groove 81 of a block 82 supporting the lower end of the said bars and adapted to maintain their alinement.

Between the said bars there is provided a base member 83 secured thereto by means of bolts 84 passing upwardly through lugs 85 extending beneath the said bars, the said members being provided with upstanding sides 86 and 87 having a series of notches 88 formed along their upper edges, and partitions 89 disposed between the said sides and forming a plurality-of stepped pockets 90 having their bases inclined to depending outlet tubes 91 emptying into a correspond- ;ng number of drawers or receptacles 92 disposed upon a shelf 93 beneath the said tubes.

Plates 94 restin inclined position at the forward ends of the said pockets upon the upper ends of the said partitions and are provided with projecting lugs 95 and 96 adapted to be adjustably engaged in the notches 88 of the sides 86 and 87. Thus the extremities of the pockets may be adjusted or shifted in their position.

Upon the upper surface of the bars 74 and 75 there are respectively mounted a series of plates 97 and 98 having their inwardly projecting ends beveled as at 99 and 100 to form a channel at the upper end of which the outlet end 69 of the tube 48 is iisposed. the said plates being variably spaced so that the balls will drop therethrough according to their particular size.

The plates 97 are provided with a pair of spaced transverse slots 101 and 101 engaged by screws 102 and 103 to securely hold the same to the bar 75. the plates being slightly spaced apart at their ends as at 104, and a slight play being provided between the screws and the slots to permit of an angular adjustment of the adjacent plates relatively to each other and to the other line of the channel. so that a gradually diverging and accurately adjusted slot may be formed. The plates 98 are similarly provided with slots 105 and 106 and screws 107 and 108 and are slightly spaced at their ends as at 118.

The plates 97 are swivelly connected at one end as at 109 to a screw 110 engaging a nut 111, knurled at its periphery and fixed against longitudinal movement between a pair of bars 112 and 113 through apertures 114 and 115 of which the screw extends, the said bars being spaced apart by sleeves 116 having connecting bolts117 extending therethrough. The slight Space 104 between the ends of the plates enables them to be angularly adjusted relatively to each other so that an accurate diverging slot may be formed, this slot either diverging continuously from its upper to its lower end or the same may consist of a plurality of diverging portions formed by the respective oppose plates or on the other hand the plates may have their edges disposed parallel to each other. the plates at the upper end of the bars being closer together than the lower plates.

The opposed plates 97 and 98 are arranged relatively to the pockets 90, each pair of plates terminating above the ends of the plates 94.

With my improvements :1 sizing machine is provided in which the balls will not clog in the feeding mechanism and will be fed be made therein within the spirit and scopev thereof as defined in the appended claims. I claim: 1. In a sizing machine of the character described, means adapted to intermittently feed articles to be sized, an inclined runway adapted to receivesaid articles and provided with a' channel of gradually increasing width from its upper to its lower end, and

means, adapted to vary the width of said channel comprising a plurality of blocks constituting one side of said runway, and means for individually adjusting said blocks transversely relatively to said channel, said means permitting adjustment of the blocks angularly with respect to each other.

2. In a sizing machine of the character described, means'adapted to intermittently.

feed articles to be sized, an inclined runway adapted to receive said articles and provided with a channel of gradually increasing;

width from its upper to its lower end, sai

runway comprising a pair of side supports, a plurality of blocks mounted on one of said supports and forming one side of said chan- "nel, means adaptedto permit adjustment of said blocks transversely of said channel, a plurality of blocks mounted on the, other of said supports and forming the other side of said channel, and means adapted toadju t said blocks transversely of saidchannel, and

angularly with respect to eacliotherl 3. In a sizing machine of the character described, means adapted to intermittently feed articles to be sized, an inclined runway adapted to receive said articles and pro .vided with a-channel of gradually increasin width from its upper to its lower end, an means adapted tovary the width of said channel comprising a plurality of spaced blocks disposed end to end and constituting one side of sa1d runway, and means for individually, adjusting said blocks transversely relatively to said channel and angu-..

larly relatively to each other.

4. In a'slzlng machine of the character. described, means adapted to intermittently.

feed articles to be sized, an inclined runway adapted to receive said articles and provided with a channel of gradually increasin width from its upper to its lower end, and means adapted to varythe width of said channel comprising a plurality of blocks constituting one'side oi said runway, means for individually adj ustlng sald blocks transversely relatively to said channel, and means swivelly connected to one end of said respective blocks adapted to adjust saidblocks angularly relatively to each other.

. 5. Ina sizing machine of the character described, meansradapted to intermittently feed articles to be" sized, an inclined runway adapted to receive said articles and provided with a channel .of gradually increasing width from its upper to its lower end, means disposed beneath said'channel having a plurallty of'spaced partitions constituting a plurality of pockets adapted to receive different sized articles falling through said channel, outletjmeans for said respective pockets, and means adapted to-adjust the end extremities of said pockets relatively to said channel.

6. In a sizing machine of the character described, means adapted to intermittently feed articles to be sized, an inclined runway adapted to receive said articles and provided with a channel of gradually increasing width from its upper toits lower end, means disposed beneathsaid channel having a;plu-' rallty of spaced partitions constituting; 1

plurality of pockets adapted to receive ferent sized articles falling through said said platesbeing adjustable longitudinally of said channel to adjust the extremities of said pockets relatively to said channel.

channel, outlet means for said respective pockets, and a plurality of guide platesdis-f posed at the upper ends of said partitions,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as a my invention, I have signed my name hereunder.

FREDERICK E. MUELLER. 

